untitled
by Shiro
Summary: Kankurou gets forced into accompanying Temari on one of her liason trips to Konoha. KankurouTenten with obligatory TemariShikamaru hinting, written for a friend.


**Notes:** Takes place during the timeskip.  
**Pairings:** Kankurou/Tenten (I blame my friend Aris), obligatory Temari/Shikamaru.

Being the Sand liason to Konoha was a tough job.

Being a brother of the Sand liason to Konoha was an even harder one. Gaara was lucky, in times like these. The soon-to-be-Kazekage couldn't be dragged halfway across the world against his will for losing a bet. Not that their elder sister would even _dream_ of attempting such a thing. Neither of them wanted Gaara in any danger, and the long trip from the Hidden Sand to the Hidden Leaf would only put him at risk.

So _why_, Kankuro couldn't help but grumble, didn't Temari care in the slightest if _he_ were to be attacked on the trip?

_A bet's a bet, so get packing._ That was the only explanation she'd given, along with a devious grin, the day before they'd left.

The second they'd arrived, off she'd gone to be with her _boyfriend_. No "We'll meet back here later, Kankuro!" or "You'll find a place to rest over there, Kankuro!" or even "I'll show you where you can buy some nice souvenirs, Kankuro!" Just a quick warning to behave while she was off on business.

The puppeteer snickered. Business. _Right._

Well, until Temari decided she'd had enough of Konoha's resident lazy bum for the day (it wouldn't be more than a day, right?), Kankuro was stuck in a village he really didn't know too well lugging a pack of items he'd likely never get to use if he didn't find a place to stay. At least he wasn't forced to carry his puppets tied to his back anymore. Thank the sands for summoning scrolls.

Shaking his head, Kankuro sank onto the first empty bench he could find. He sighed in frustration at the situation. "She could have at _least_ left me a damn _map_!" A small cluster of children chatting nearby stared at his outburst, then giggled before running off. The puppeteer rested his head against his hand. "Great."

Within what hardly seemed more than a few minutes, his vision was obstructed by a sudden wall of green. A bandaged hand landed on his shoulder, and he raised an eyebrow at the figure standing before him. "You must not be feeling down, my friend! There are many things with which to restore your youthful vigor! There is sunshine! There is the singing of birds! There are another three hundred sixty-two laps around the village!"

Kankuro's eyebrow rose higher. "Pass." The urge to get up and walk off as if he knew exactly where he was going grew stronger by the second. But no, this was Gaara's friend. ...and the guy would probably follow him anyway, going on about youth and whatever _else_ they taught kids in Konoha. Thank the sands nobody back home smoked whatever this kid was on.

"You are most welcome to join me later, then! Yosh! I will not begrudge you your time of relaxation!" The kid turned to go, already jogging in place, when he caught sight of another Konoha shinobi fast approaching. Kankuro looked from one to the other as the newcomer slowed to a halt in front of him.

"You're one tough guy to find, Lee. Everyone I talked to said you'd just passed by!" She took a deep breath. "It's a good thing I caught up to you, though. The Fifth wants to talk to you. Since I just finished, she asked me to tell you to head over." As he began jogging back the way she'd come, she cupped her hands around her mouth and added, "and tell Neji after you're done, too!" Letting out an exhale of air, she plopped down on the bench, more exasperated than out of breath.

"...interesting team you've got there."

She ran her hands through the back of her hair. "They both drive me positively insane sometimes, but they're good guys. Really strong, too."

He chuckled. "Yeah. I remember."

Tenten glanced up, realizing for the first time there was another person sitting on the bench. Her eyes widened. "Hey, aren't you-"

"Yeah."

She continued to stare at him, her lips gradually widening into a smirk. "Lost a bet, huh?"

Kankuro looked away, in part to hide his embarassment at being found out so easily. "What makes you think I'm not just here visiting?"

She counted on her fingers for emphasis. "One, you're sitting on a bench in front of the shopping district but don't have any shopping bags with you. Two, Naruto's still off training, and I'm pretty sure you don't know anyone else in Konoha well enough to visit. Oh, and three: I saw Temari-san on my way out of the Fifth's office."

His glared at the ground. "Dammit, Temari."

"She also said if I ran into you, to tell you she'll be here for the week."

He clenched his hand into a fist. "_Dammit_, Temari!"

"So." Tenten pushed herself off the bench, already recovered from chasing after her teammate. "How about I show you a good place to stay while you're here? And I'll try to keep Lee from bothering you. Too much, I mean. Lee's Lee afterall."

For the first time since arriving in Konoha, the puppeteer grinned. "Sounds great." He pushed himself off the bench as well, shouldering his pack. "Lead the way."


End file.
